Norfolk takes tyres for recycling at centres (sited in fairly bike-hostile places). Only 4 car tyres a month per person, but unlimited bike tyres, so they told me.
Inner tubes go to landfill if you take them there. See other recently-active threads viewtopic.php?f=1&t=80045 and viewtopic.php?f=1&t=30756
Fixing a puncture on the road
Re: Fixing a puncture on the road
MJR, mostly pedalling 3-speed roadsters. KL+West Norfolk BUG incl social easy rides http://www.klwnbug.co.uk
All the above is CC-By-SA and no other implied copyright license to Cycle magazine.
All the above is CC-By-SA and no other implied copyright license to Cycle magazine.
Re: Fixing a puncture on the road
What are inner tubes made from?
Can you burn them safely?
Can you burn them safely?
Mick F. Cornwall
Re: Fixing a puncture on the road
mjr wrote:Norfolk takes tyres for recycling at centres (sited in fairly bike-hostile places). Only 4 car tyres a month per person, but unlimited bike tyres, so they told me.
Inner tubes go to landfill if you take them there. See other recently-active threads viewtopic.php?f=1&t=80045 and viewtopic.php?f=1&t=30756
Four car tyres a month?! What on earth are these motons doing - rallying across Africa every day or something? I reckon to get several years out of a car tyre.
I must admit, my (bike) inner tubes go in the landfill bin. The binmen haven't complained - or noticed - yet...
Suppose that this room is a lift. The support breaks and down we go with ever-increasing velocity.
Let us pass the time by performing physical experiments...
--- Arthur Eddington (creator of the Eddington Number).
Let us pass the time by performing physical experiments...
--- Arthur Eddington (creator of the Eddington Number).
Re: Fixing a puncture on the road
But often all four need replacing at the same time...
A shortcut has to be a challenge, otherwise it would just be the way. No situation is so dire that panic cannot make it worse.
There are two kinds of people in this world: those can extrapolate from incomplete data.
There are two kinds of people in this world: those can extrapolate from incomplete data.
Re: Fixing a puncture on the road
We do all four, but once or twice we get away with only two at a time.
Bike gets both done at once. I rotate them so they both need replacing together, but the car is more difficult to do like that. I try to change the car's front-to-back, but sometimes it's not worth it so all four get done.
Expensive in one hit!
Bike gets both done at once. I rotate them so they both need replacing together, but the car is more difficult to do like that. I try to change the car's front-to-back, but sometimes it's not worth it so all four get done.
Expensive in one hit!
Mick F. Cornwall
Re: Fixing a puncture on the road
661-Pete wrote:Four car tyres a month?! What on earth are these motons doing - rallying across Africa every day or something? I reckon to get several years out of a car tyre.
It's to discourage commercial traders from using the household waste service, surely?
MJR, mostly pedalling 3-speed roadsters. KL+West Norfolk BUG incl social easy rides http://www.klwnbug.co.uk
All the above is CC-By-SA and no other implied copyright license to Cycle magazine.
All the above is CC-By-SA and no other implied copyright license to Cycle magazine.
Re: Fixing a puncture on the road
Many of the punctures I have these days are slow punctures that take some finding, which is why I resort to the bowl of water. Indeed I delayed repairing one puncture for some months because the tyre stayed up tolerably for about 10 days, but eventually started going down quicker. The last time I had one of these slow punctures, I failed to find the hole at the first attempt in the bowl of water. I then over-inflated it and cause it to explode.
Re: Fixing a puncture on the road
Ten days? 
Mine would be almost flat if I sat on the bike after ten days.
Mine need topping up every two or three days. Maybe it's something to do with having up to 120psi in them.
Mine would be almost flat if I sat on the bike after ten days.
Mine need topping up every two or three days. Maybe it's something to do with having up to 120psi in them.
Mick F. Cornwall
Re: Fixing a puncture on the road
Sorting this year's puncture today (a slow one, almost certainly a thorn from hedge clippings on Saturday's ride) coincided with the visit of the lady who does our garden. I remembered the earlier comments about using them in the garden so have found a useful way to recycle my unwanted inner tubes 
I've found with narrow, high pressure tyres that it is difficult to reliably patch the tubes due to the amount of stretching the tube gets with 25/28mm tyres (I'm using Schwalbe SV15s which state they are for 18-28mm tyres). I was going to repair the tube today as it was on the tandem which runs 47mm tyres, there should be less stretch on the bigger tube inside, but found the glue in the repair kit had gone too thick to be useful so put a new one in for now. I'll look out some more glue - there will be some floating around among my odds & ends - & see if that is any better.
I had to resort to putting the tube in water to find the hole as it was the tiniest of pinpricks - the tyre was taking an hour or more to go noticeably soft, so just stopped to pump it up once to finish our ride.
Incidentally it's the first puncture since I got the tandem 3 years ago, but have done relatively low mileage on it, & it was the first time I've had to take off either of the tyres.
Rick.
I've found with narrow, high pressure tyres that it is difficult to reliably patch the tubes due to the amount of stretching the tube gets with 25/28mm tyres (I'm using Schwalbe SV15s which state they are for 18-28mm tyres). I was going to repair the tube today as it was on the tandem which runs 47mm tyres, there should be less stretch on the bigger tube inside, but found the glue in the repair kit had gone too thick to be useful so put a new one in for now. I'll look out some more glue - there will be some floating around among my odds & ends - & see if that is any better.
I had to resort to putting the tube in water to find the hole as it was the tiniest of pinpricks - the tyre was taking an hour or more to go noticeably soft, so just stopped to pump it up once to finish our ride.
Incidentally it's the first puncture since I got the tandem 3 years ago, but have done relatively low mileage on it, & it was the first time I've had to take off either of the tyres.
Rick.
Former member of the Cult of the Polystyrene Head Carbuncle.
Re: Fixing a puncture on the road
Mick F wrote:Ten days?
Mine would be almost flat if I sat on the bike after ten days.
Mine need topping up every two or three days. Maybe it's something to do with having up to 120psi in them.
Flipping heck - I top mine up every month or two...
Are you sure you don't have permanent p*nct*res?
A shortcut has to be a challenge, otherwise it would just be the way. No situation is so dire that panic cannot make it worse.
There are two kinds of people in this world: those can extrapolate from incomplete data.
There are two kinds of people in this world: those can extrapolate from incomplete data.
Re: Fixing a puncture on the road
Mick, perhaps you need to check the guage on your pump? 
Re: Fixing a puncture on the road
I was sort of being humorous .............
Barbarella sits in the shed and she gets taken out once a week or so and all I do is "feel" the tyres. She has 27x1.25 tyres and inflated to perhaps 60/50psi. I may top them up every month or so, but by then, they do need it.
Mercian OTOH has narrow 23mm tyres at 120/100psi and unless they are within a certain band - dunno what that may be, but the rear one "drops" quite a bit at 100psi - they need topping up.
Say 10% reduction max?
10% makes a big difference to my tyres and that comes within a few days.
I'm using Schwalbe tubes now and they hold the pressure better than the Vittoria ones I was using before. I used have to top them up every ride/every day, but now they can go perhaps three days. I did them this morning before going out, and although I'll be cycling tomorrow, I won't even bother. Maybe by Thursday I'll top them up again if I ride out.
Barbarella sits in the shed and she gets taken out once a week or so and all I do is "feel" the tyres. She has 27x1.25 tyres and inflated to perhaps 60/50psi. I may top them up every month or so, but by then, they do need it.
Mercian OTOH has narrow 23mm tyres at 120/100psi and unless they are within a certain band - dunno what that may be, but the rear one "drops" quite a bit at 100psi - they need topping up.
Say 10% reduction max?
10% makes a big difference to my tyres and that comes within a few days.
I'm using Schwalbe tubes now and they hold the pressure better than the Vittoria ones I was using before. I used have to top them up every ride/every day, but now they can go perhaps three days. I did them this morning before going out, and although I'll be cycling tomorrow, I won't even bother. Maybe by Thursday I'll top them up again if I ride out.
Mick F. Cornwall
Re: Fixing a puncture on the road
Something doesn't sound right with that as a regime.
People think you're crazy with chain cleaning, but this beats that hands down, or does everyone else have to check their tyres at this frequency as well?
I probably *could* top mine up frequently, but they don't drop 20psi, nor even 10%, in a week, probably not in 2.
People think you're crazy with chain cleaning, but this beats that hands down, or does everyone else have to check their tyres at this frequency as well?
I probably *could* top mine up frequently, but they don't drop 20psi, nor even 10%, in a week, probably not in 2.
A shortcut has to be a challenge, otherwise it would just be the way. No situation is so dire that panic cannot make it worse.
There are two kinds of people in this world: those can extrapolate from incomplete data.
There are two kinds of people in this world: those can extrapolate from incomplete data.
Re: Fixing a puncture on the road
Please educate me Bob. 
Give me some figures.
What tyres and size?
What tubes?
What pressure?
My regime has been borne out from using narrow HP tyres for donkey's years. Unless they are hard, they "drop" and the ride has a dead feeling.
Give me some figures.
What tyres and size?
What tubes?
What pressure?
My regime has been borne out from using narrow HP tyres for donkey's years. Unless they are hard, they "drop" and the ride has a dead feeling.
Mick F. Cornwall
Re: Fixing a puncture on the road
I suppose that smaller width tyres at higher pressure will lose pressure quicker than fat tyres at lower pressure.
The smaller tyre has a lower volume so any air loss will result in a bigger pressure change.
In addition, the higher pressure will cause any 'leak' or permeability to be bigger compared to the lower pressure.
Finally, I don't think I would notice a pressure drop on my mountain bike as I wouldn't notice the change in amount of 'squidge'.
However, Mick F's pumping his tyres every couple of days does seem excessive.
I typically pump my 700x23C tyres once a month or so, but perhaps I am less fussy.
One final thing I find and don't understand is that if I regularly use my bike, the tyres seem to hold pressure, but during periods of idleness, the tyres seem to deflate quicker. Anyone else noticed this or can explain why?
Mark
The smaller tyre has a lower volume so any air loss will result in a bigger pressure change.
In addition, the higher pressure will cause any 'leak' or permeability to be bigger compared to the lower pressure.
Finally, I don't think I would notice a pressure drop on my mountain bike as I wouldn't notice the change in amount of 'squidge'.
However, Mick F's pumping his tyres every couple of days does seem excessive.
I typically pump my 700x23C tyres once a month or so, but perhaps I am less fussy.
One final thing I find and don't understand is that if I regularly use my bike, the tyres seem to hold pressure, but during periods of idleness, the tyres seem to deflate quicker. Anyone else noticed this or can explain why?
Mark